Close to 20% of marijuana products in California have failed tests for potency and purity since the state started requiring the checks on July 1 – a rate some in the industry say has more to do with unrealistic standards and technical glitches than protecting consumer safety.

Testing has been especially tough on cannabis-infused cookies, candies and tinctures: About one-third have been blocked from store shelves.

Below are the findings in California’s testing of legal marijuana from July 1 through Aug. 29 . There were 10,695 samples tested and 1,904 fell short, according to the state’s Bureau of Cannabis Control (BCC) – and some samples failed for multiple reasons:

Inaccurate claims on package label – 1,279 failures

Pesticides – 403 failures

Microbial impurities (mold, E. coli, salmonella) – 114 failures

Residual solvents, processing chemicals – 99 failures

Moisture (in cannabis flower) – 36 failures

Homogeneity (even distribution of THC) – 25 failures

Foreign material (insect fragments, hair) – 6 failures

The debate over testing isn’t just about lab procedures or allowable levels of pesticides. It all comes with a cost, which companies say is straining budgets.

Testing for a small, outdoor marijuana farm can typically cost $5,000 to $10,000 in California.

“Nearly a fifth of California marijuana products failing testing standards”
It should read, California labs failed to provide accurate test results.
We have had several tests fail. Two for pesticides and one for residual solvents. The easy one was the solvents, our flower product did not use any, yet failed for four different types. Most manufacturers only use one maybe two types of solvents. We had the lab retest the batch and it passed with zero solvents. Two pesticide batches failed for the same pesticide call spinosad which, Will NOT persist in the environment and is classified as an organic substance by the USDA National Organic Program (NOP). OMRI Listed for use in organic production. Controls caterpillars as well as beetles, leafminers, thrips and more!
Again since we grew the cannabis from seed we knew that this terrible nasty organic substance was not present. Again we had the lab retest, the spinosad now passed but the test found two other pesticides that failed.
So now we sent it to a different lab. It passed with no pesticides found. Yet the THC went from 16.7% to 14.6%. Now it failed the potency test.
The lab techs have told us that if a sample is detected with a substance with this new very expensive testing equipment that “ghost or noise” feedback in the room can fail the next several tests. The LOD and LOQ are so small that off gassing of the substance can cause other products to fail as it’s in the air. Or something like that! All I know is that the tests are expensive, not accurate and just a roll of the dice.
The real concerns are the tests that pass due to this roll of the dice. IS THE PRODUCT THEY SAFE OR IS IT CONTAMINATED? The only benefit other than a placebo effect for the consumer are the huge taxes and fees collected by the State.
This is what happens when the rules board is lead by the alcohol industry. CHAOS!! Cannabis has never killed anyone that did not abuse it. But, combine the alcohol industry with cannabis and we better get the body bags ready.

A large number of failures on account pesticides and other chemicals is a matter of deep concern. No one can deny that any overdose on such laced products could be fatal. There are thousands of patients who receive medical marijuana recommendations from renowned clinics. If they consume laced, adulterated & spurious marijuana products, then not only dispensaries but the clinics will also be at a risk of losing their trust of thousands of patients.

Cindy, are you aware of any significant untoward events ( bad outcomes ) for medical cannabis users that purchased from a dispensary that ( passed ) tested under the “old” testing standards, as it relates pesticides, mold, laced, etc..? Do you have any info w/regard to ( passed testing ) cannabis that’s being purchased now, from dispensaries using “new” testing standards? One concern that comes to mind is storage, once the cannabis is brought home. One can purchase cannabis from a licensed dispensary but then store it improperly and get sickened by a molded cannabis. The individual can then get ill enough to require a different kind of medical treatment. Are you aware of significant differences between the old and new testing standards as it relates the relative risk between the two?